My People

My People
My matched set of grandchildren - Oliver and Cosette
Showing posts with label Fibromyalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fibromyalgia. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Check. Check. Check.

Happy Birthday to my brother Bryan. There's no way I look ten years older, right? 
I spent twenty minutes trying to figure out how to put a check mark in the title of this blog. The fact that my vision is so blurry that I can't focus well enough to read instructions re-emphasizes my need for one of those check marks I earned... I made an appointment with the eye doctor! For next Tuesday!

Then Wednesday I have an appointment with the dentist to figure out my dental plan from here. My only stipulation: no more teeth come out before we put some more in. I'm chewing on one side. They can't take that away from me or I'll be living on broth and oatmeal. Also, since we've determined that I don't heal well, I don't want to pull any more teeth. I want them to take what's in there now and make it work. I realize this makes me a difficult patient to deal with but I'm living with too much pain with the things we can't fix to willing go into a dentist's office and let him cause me MORE pain.

So eye doctor, check ... and also... the financial kind of check.
Dentist, check... and another check.

I also called the library to see if they have started back up with story time so we can take Cosette. They haven't but they will soon. Cosette is really young for organized activities but... on the other hand she's a smart girl, she does good with sitting still when it's expected of her (out to dinner, per esempio - for example). She might think it's awesome or ... she might completely flake out. I think it's free, though, so ... check but no check. Austin definitely wants to take her to the library to check out books. She's a bit "enthusiastic" with turning pages sometimes so we would have to be careful what books she chooses but I like that he wants her to go to the library. Is it overboard if I say, "he's such a good daddy" again today?

As I'm writing this my mom has gone through the first procedure which she said was no problem at all. I've had interstitial cystitis since before Cody was born so any probing of the urinary kind is always going to be painful. A full bladder is painful in a way that folks without IC would not believe. I'm glad it wasn't uncomfortable for mom since she still has to deal with the gastro stuff this afternoon with a long drive down and a long drive home. The urologist sees some stones, we hope they are just the everyday kind of stones and not anything hairy scary. More wait and see on that. If there's anything else more to share from her second appointment today I'll update here and on Facebook. Based on last time, I don't think we'll know much today.

When Little Kitty snores it makes the same sound my phone makes when I have a text... just a little buzzing/hummy kind of sound. He's such a little old man sometimes... and other times he's an inconsiderate teenager. He's actually 5 years old so I don't know what that translates to in human years.

I'm still in the thick of a fibromyalgia flare. I'm not a doctor or meteorologist but I could have told you that there were storms brewing to the South without even looking at the news. As a matter of fact, I thought to myself, "this is such an unusually oppressive bout of aches and fatigue... I wonder what the weather looks like?" The struggle is real. I can tell that extreme weather is coming by my hair and my arthritis. I know, I know... those storms are way out there (at least they were yesterday)... but it already has changed the atmosphere over us. (by the way... learning Italian makes me want to misspell words like "atmosphere" to "atmosfera"- dear spellcheck, I am not an idiot, I'm just trying to be bilingual.)

 I didn't sleep well last night. I have seen three fleas on Little Kitty over the course of the past week and have been aggressively treating him - but not the carpet or furniture because I don't want Cosette or Oliver to come into contact with anything harmful to them. I comb him through carefully several times a day with a special flea removing  comb that I scrub with soap between uses. I bought the flea medicine for the back of his neck (I'm afraid it didn't get all the way through his fur like it's supposed to). I've even added a flea collar. I haven't seen a flea anywhere but on him but the thought of it is making me itch like crazy. I took a benedryl out of desperation which made me sleepy but unable to sleep.

Then the fibro / arthritis flare is ramping up my muscle spasms which... are not as fun as you might think ... so I'm having to consistently take the muscle relaxer that works great and is better at easing pain than even the strong pain meds because it loosens those tight muscles BUT the muscle relaxer makes me so sleepy. NOT... I could take a great nap sleepy. No... it is the dreaded "my eyes are too tired to focus on anything, my brain doesn't process works correctly but there is no way in the world I can go to sleep" sleepy. Which really intensifies that fibro fatigue.

I tried to go back to sleep this morning since I kept dozing off on my Italian lesson. I'm working on verbs so it's sort of easy because I know what the root word is and I just have to remember the right ending like...
I give - do
You give (singular) - dai
He gives - da
We give - diamo
You give (plural, like "y'all give") date
They give - danno
It takes a bit of concentration but it's not like learning absolutely brand new words. Unfortunately concentration was = to me falling asleep. So I put my things aside and covered up to be able to sneak a little more sleep while the house was still quiet and then.... Little Kitty took this as an opportunity to sit in my lap and groom himself. Ever tried to sleep while a cat is loudly grooming himself in your lap? The smacking and slurping... the wiggling... every now and then deciding I needed some grooming myself so I would doze off and then  BAM! sandpaper tongue slicing through my skin!

But at the moment... the house is quiet. Austin's at work and my parents are at the hospital. The cats are enjoying the midday sun on the porch and Oscar is tucked under a blanket beside me. Since I managed to check two things off my to-do list today, maybe I should add "take a nap" to the list and then check that one off too! Love and hugs, everybody! Hope you're having a great day!

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Things I've Enjoyed Lately

This is my low-rent version of Oprah's favorite things... a blog post where I tell you about things I've enjoyed lately but unlike with Oprah, I'm not giving anything away for free.

I wanted to lose myself in a movie this morning. I'm battling a fibromyalgia flare which feels like having the flu, complete with body aches, especially with body aches. For the past five or six or ten days I've woke up feeling miserable and totally exhausted. I am having trouble staying awake in the morning, even though I'm usually wide awake before six every day. I'm still working on my Italian course first thing but I've had trouble concentrating and this morning I totally gave up. I couldn't go back to sleep because the house was awake at that point so it would be an exercise in frustration. I thought it might be a good time to settle into a movie.

St. Vincent (the movie) -Starring Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy - was the one I picked. This one was on Netflix. It was sweet, funny but not slapstick (I hate over the top humor). The story was not too sappy and it met my movie requirement of potential to happen in real life... sort of. I like Bill Murray in serious roles. I like Melissa McCarthy in serious roles, too, I guess. Bill Murray plays a Vietnam Vet with a lot of issues who becomes a babysitter for a little boy who moves in next door whose parents are going through a divorce. It's not a really deep story but it was entertaining and gave me a little time to get past the first thing in the morning funk.

Gold Peak Peach Tea - cheaper than Starbucks peach tea and tastes even better! I've always avoided prepacked tea because it never tasted right. Turns out Gold Peak is made by Coca Cola and they use real sugar instead of high fructose whatever. I think sugar makes the difference. Also... this has to be kept in the refrigerator. There are some versions of the Gold Peak tea that doesn't have to be refrigerated until it's opened. Maybe whatever makes it perishable also makes it good. Whatever the case... it's my favorite beverage of the moment. At least until Pumpkin Spice Latte's hit Starbucks which is BOUND to happen any day!

Drop Dead Diva - Binge watching this series about a shallow diva who dies and is reincarnated as a chubby lawyer. Diva's bereaved boyfriend works at the same law firm. There are all kinds of situations that are complicated for Jane (the Diva). It's slightly ironic that my last binge watch event was about a virgin named Jane and now I'm watching a former diva named Jane. Apparently I have a thing for stories about girls named Jane. One benefit of being a C-span / PBS junkie is that there are allllll these television series that I never bothered watching over the past... um... all of my life... so I can always find something brand new (to me) to watch all the way through when I need a break from... the things that I normally do.

Sargento Balanced Breaks - This is a perfect snack for my mom who is diabetic... For myself, when I need a little something on my stomach to be able to take medication but I'm in too much pain to eat much... For Cosette, minus the nuts, it's a perfect little meal. The cheese is already cut into perfect toddler sized bites. For all of us... it's a little punch of protein (which none of us get enough of). I'm going to say that you could probably make your own little pack of these things for cheaper. Three of these little packs is about $3.50 at Ingles, $2.50 at Walmart. But... if your blood sugar is going the wrong way (mom) or you're in too much pain to fix something for yourself (me) or if you're too young to use a knife (Cosette) ha! I mean, if you don't want to waste precious daddy/daughter time or Nana/grandbaby time fixing a snack... this is a winner.

Talenti Gelato. My first love, as far as frozen treats go, is and will always be Luigi's Mango flavored Italian Ice. I have two every night, at 100 calories each. However... there are times that I want something a little more indulgent. This is not cheap but that's ok... the price keeps me from over-indulging. My favorite flavor so far is the sea salt caramel but I'm eager to try the other flavors they sell. The repurposing / upcycling side of me wants to figure out a use for the empty jars. They're a sturdy plastic with a screw top. Mini canisters, I think. I thought about painting them with chalkboard paint to cover the labels... it just feels like it has great craft project potential. You know, to have another reason to indulge besides... "I'm worth it."

I think I've shown most of my Carter's haul from last weekend except maybe this adorable little shirt that I got for Oliver. Cody and I are debating the colors. It's hard to tell in this photo because the lighting isn't the best. I say that it's the lovely blue from their wedding with some coral tones... he says it's Florida Gators colors. Cody is a huge Florida State fan. WE ALL are Florida State fans, as that was the "Grandma Clause". I agreed to switch my allegiance from the University of Florida to Florida State if I was made a grandmother. Since I won the Nana Lottery last year and got two sweet grandbabies, I'm working hard at being a Florida State fan. They didn't make it easy last season. I'm excited that football season is cranking back up, though. Florida State plays on Monday - not tomorrow, Labor Day Monday. But this shirt... I promise is not Gators colors. Either way, I think our sweet Oliver is going to look quite handsome in this little shirt. I'm putting myself on baby clothes buying restriction until time to buy holiday outfits. I've already got my eye on two little adorable matching outfits for Thanksgiving...

So those are the things that I've enjoyed this past week. I'd love to hear your favorite products, shows, movies, places to shop.... feel free to leave comments here or on my Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by! Love and hugs, y'all!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Explaining My Pain

I found this little graphic on visual.ly.com. What struck me is that I have four out of the five conditions listed. I don't currently have muscle sprain... but I do have the other four.



Beating Back Pain: Common Causes and Trusted Treatments